|
DATE:
Tuesday 10th July 2007, 7.45pm
FIXTURE: Histon
v West Bromwich Albion
COMPETITION: Pre-Season
Friendly
TEAM
NEWS
Albion travel to non-league side Histon on Tuesday night for the
opening friendly of the 2007/08 season. Cambridgeshire
side Histon are still celebrating their promotion to the
newly renamed Blue Square Premier Division (formerly
known as the Conference) after winning the Conference
South Championship last season.
Albion are expected to take a strong squad for the game
which will should include new signings Craig Beattie and
Shelton Martis. Scottish international Beattie will be
eager to start in style and prove he is over the injury
problems which dogged his time at Celtic and show that
the fee of £1.25m is value for money and to use this
move as a springboard back into the Scotland squad.
Martis, a surprise signing will also be hoping for
better times at Albion than he had in his 12 months at
Hibs, the £50,000 centre-half will be looking to force
his way into Albion’s starting line-up at Burnley on
August 11th.
Histon are expecting a big crowd for the game with the
main stand already sold out and a special guest will be
Albion
fan and Champion Horse Racing trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam
who is a big friend to both clubs with his horses racing
in
Albion colours and his stables decked out in Histon’s
red and black. There are other connections between the
two clubs with Histon’s PR Manager Graham Eales and his
son Darren who is employed by
Albion thus forming a good relationship between the two
clubs.
Histon manager Steve Fallon is assisted by former
Cambridge United boss John Beck and have been active
this Summer adding no fewer than 7 new players to their
squad ready for the new challenge awaiting them. The
seven new signings arriving at The Glassworld Stadium
this
summer are: Gareth Gwillim (ex Crystal Palace), Mark
Osborn (from Kettering Town), Danny Naisbitt (from
Cambridge City), Craig Pope (from Cambridge City), Dean
Bradshaw (from Braintree Town), Cliff Akurang (from
Dagenham & Redbridge) and Patrick Ada (from Exeter
City). The man who scored the goal that clinched
promotion for The Stutes Adrian Cambridge was voted the
The Nationwide South Player of the Year, an award voted
for by the managers of each club in the league,
Cambridge
received 17 of the 22 votes.
Although most of the players will not be known to Albion
fans, the names which may be familiar are Lance Key, a
39 year old goalkeeper who is currently Histon player/
goalkeeping coach who has experience with a number of
clubs including Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale and Dundee
United. Antonio Murray who was with Tony Mowbray at
Hibernian after signing from Ipswich Town in January
2005 and played 13 times before leaving in October 2006,
he was a youngster with Chelsea at the beginning of his
career.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
The Stutes began in 1904 as a village team and won
promotion as Champions from the Conference South last
season and will be bringing Blue Square Premier League
football to their Glassworld Stadium in August.
From their formation in 1904 they were known as Histon
Institute FC and played in the Cambridgeshire Football
League, they moved to the Delphian League for the
1960/61 season and had by now dropped the Institute part
of their name. The Delphian League disbanded three years
later and after a brief stay in the Athenian League they
joined the Eastern Counties League where they stayed for
almost 25 years before the league changed to a 2
division format in 1988 with Histon moving into the
Premier Division. They were relegated in 1995 to
Division 1 but gained promotion back to the Premier
Division as champions after 2 seasons. In 1999/00 they
won the Premier Division title gaining promotion to the
Southern Football League thus beginning a fantastic
journey for the club into un-chartered waters.
In 2003/04 Histon finished 2nd in the SL Eastern
Division gaining promotion to the Premier Division, this
proved no challenge as the club won the Premier Division
Title at the first attempt and promotion to the
Conference South. In their first season in the new
division they finished 5th earning the club a place in
the end of season play-offs but after winning the semi-final
tie they failed to go the extra mile losing in the Final
to St Albans City.
Season 2006/07 was the best season enjoyed by the club
in their history when on the 14th April the club beat
Welling United 1-0 to win promotion to the Conference
National (now renamed Blue Square Premier) with the goal
coming from Adrian Cambridge (pretty apt for the
Cambridgeshire side) in the 89th minute and with the
ground being passed for the new level of football the
club are eagerly anticipating the coming season
beginning with Tuesdays friendly against Tony Mowbray’s
Albion side.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets
will be available on the turnstiles from 6.15pm. General
admission is £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. Fans
can pay on the night of the game but early arrival is
recommended.
PARKING INFORMATION
The
Glassworld Stadium operates a NO PARKING policy for fans
at the ground.
Parking
has been agreed with local companies within the village
and there is lots of street parking possible in the
locality.
|
